Thélyson Orélien, a 38-year-old Haitian-born writer, is defending his debut novel against claims that artificial intelligence wrote it. The book, C’était ça ou mourir (It Was Either That or Die), recently won the Prix du Roman Fnac and had been a rising favorite this fall literary season. Now its credibility is under question.
The Novel and Its Rise
Released earlier this year in Canada and France, the novel follows a teacher who flees Haiti as gang violence closes in. His dangerous journey ends in Canada, where he begins to recover a sense of safety. Orélien moved to Montreal in 2010. The book entered early selection rounds for the Prix Goncourt and Prix Renaudot, and the Femina and Médicis prizes shortlisted it. According to The Wall Street Journal, rights have been sold in more than 20 countries, and Scribner plans a U.S. translation in 2028.
Detector Claims Spark Backlash
The controversy began when a French group called Balance ton Claude said it tested several passages and got a result of “100% AI.” University of Toronto professor Kevin Bryan, who studies AI and innovation, ran excerpts through the detection tool Pangram, which labeled each one fully AI-generated. Online readers also complained that the prose felt machine-written.
The Goncourt Academy responded by removing the novel from consideration, saying it does not endorse texts created with AI assistance.
Orélien and Publisher Push Back
Orélien flatly denies the allegations. He told Libération he sees no reason he would need a machine, adding that the rhythms and repetitions in his prose come from his Haitian and Caribbean traditions. He and his editor are assembling a dossier of evidence to show he wrote the book himself.
His publisher, Grasset, rejected the accusations as deeply damaging to an author with an extraordinary personal story, and described his writing as original and forceful.